Marketing Pilgrim Published: "Fear the Panda! Google Adds Extra Kung Fu to Non-English Search Results" plus 4 more

Fear the Panda! Google Adds Extra Kung Fu to Non-English Search Results

Posted: 12 Aug 2011 06:17 AM PDT

If your regular Google routine includes searches that are not in English, you'll now find your results have extra Kung Fu.
OK, so maybe not, but they will now have extra Panda, after Google announced the rollout of its controversial update to all languages:

Earlier this year, we rolled out our "Panda" change for searches in English around theworld. Today we're continuing that effort by rolling out our algorithmic search improvements in different languages…
…For most languages, this change impacts typically 6-9% of queries to a degree that a user might notice. This is distinctly lower than the initial launch of Panda, which affected almost 12% of English queries to a noticeable amount.

So, now you'll be able to see the complaints Tweeted in Spanish, French, German, and maybe even Klingon. What you won't see are complaints about Panda in Chinese, Japanese or Korean.
Maybe Google's scared of any retaliation from the Kung Fu Panda.

Caught With Hand in Privacy Cookie Jar, LinkedIn Makes Change

Posted: 12 Aug 2011 05:38 AM PDT

What was brought to light over the past few days regarding LinkedIn's attempts to engage in social advertising appears to have impacted the professional social networking leader. There has been enough discord from the social media industry that LinkedIn has made a change. From their blog post

Our core guiding value is Members First. And, with regards to the social ads we've been testing, we're listening to our members. We could have communicated our intentions — to provide more value and relevancy to our members — more clearly.
Most importantly, what we've learned now, is that, even though our members are happy to have their actions, such as recommendations, be viewable by their network as a public action, some of those same members may not be comfortable with the use of their names and photos associated with those actions used in ads served to their network.

Here is what that change will look like.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

You can still opt out completely by following the steps here. That's your call.

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So what's the lesson here? It may be that when the Internet industry responds to privacy issues with enough intensity that the mainstream press will pick up the story, change can happen. If it's an industry only dust-up the social networks have learned that you can ride out those storms without doing much other than some white knuckling during the situation.
This wider exposure, however, protects the vast majority of the users who had no idea that this was even happening, from being used by their "trusted" social networks. It's this vast majority that LinkedIn is STILL banking on because they STILL will not even know to opt-out of the social advertising program.
The sad part of this is that last sentence. Even LinkedIn, who had a reputation of being above the fray and not doing the ridiculous social media tricks of the other social networks, has stooped to their level. Of course, now having the pressure of quarterly reports for investors as a publicly traded company may have brought this on. It wouldn't be the first time that a company did something stupid because of that often unnecessary short term pressure.
In the end this will be the point in time where the last of the big social networking players went to the dark side and, at least for me, they can't come back. It is now smart to be just as vigilant of LinkedIn's every move and not let them sit in the background any more because of the "Well, LinkedIn wouldn't stoop to Facebook or Twitter's level, would they?" attitude we could have in the past.
Too bad, really, but that's the way the big business cookie crumbles. Eventually everyone will make a mistake based on arrogance and hubris. Everyone and every time. It's human nature to think you can put one by the unsuspecting masses. It works a lot of the time but when it doesn't it really doesn't.
Honestly, LinkedIn "got away" with it for over a month. Shame on us as an industry for trusting them. Oh well. Not anymore.
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Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy! Games Come To Google+

Posted: 12 Aug 2011 04:44 AM PDT

Well, that didn't take long now did it? Yesterday, Google's star of Mercedes commercials, Vic Gundotra, put the post up on Google's blog that equal amounts of people were waiting for and feared regarding Google+. Simply stated, "Let the games begin!"
The best part for me personally is the last sentence of the following quote from the post.

Today we're adding games to Google+. With the Google+ project, we want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web. But sharing is about more than just conversations. The experiences we have together are just as important to our relationships. We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life.
That means giving you control over when you see games, how you play them and with whom you share your experiences. Games in Google+ are there when you want them and gone when you don't.

Here are the initial set of 16 games that are being rolled out to Google+ users in the future. Not everyone will see this initially but don't worry it'll get there.

In case you are a little slow on the uptake, I am not a fan of these games. I will give credit where credit is due though. Google must know that there enough folks out there like myself who would rather get a sharp stick in the eye than have one of my friends requesting help getting a virtual animal out of a virtual mess or looking for me to help them fight some evil menace in
~~fantasyland~~ cyberspace.

By all appearances I will have complete control over whether I ever see a game in Google+.

When you're ready to play, the Games page is waiting—click the games button at the top of your stream. You can see the latest game updates from your circles, browse the invites you've received and check out games that people you know have played recently. The Games page is also where your game accomplishments will appear. So you can comfortably share your latest high score—your circles will only see the updates when they're interested in playing games too.

I have to hand it to Google on this one. At least they are listening to people. Facebook just shoves all of your acquaintances' game playing in your face and you are required to remove them from your feed. If a new game manages to get picked up by one of your buddies you will see it (news feed as advertising at its worst) and then it's up to you to hide it. For me that just creates more disdain for the practice when there really doesn't need to be any at all.
Google's approach to making games a non-issue for those of us who aren't part of that side of the online world does everyone a service. I don't have to be bothered by something I have no interest in while those that are interested have the ability to be with folks of like mind and not get any flack from their friends who don't. That's how the real world works and Google is going to benefit from making that the case in Google+.
So for those who want games in Google+ it's a great day and for those of us who don't it's a great day as well. Nice work Google. A rare online win/win. Now, let's see if it works as promised.

Twitter Connects the Dots with New Activity Tab

Posted: 11 Aug 2011 12:14 PM PDT

Check Twitter later today and you should find another new upgrade designed to keep you from using those third-party encroachers.
First, they're adding more data to the @YOURNAME tab so you can easily see who is reTweeting you along with messages directed at you. It also lists Tweets that were favorited but does anyone really use that function? I'm a big Twitter user and don't think I've ever favorited a Tweet. This tab will also drop you a note if someone follows or lists you.
Next, they're adding a whole new tab called Activity. Activity should mean everything that happens in your account but it doesn't. This new tab will show you what the people you follow are up to including their favorites, new follows and reTweets. Here's the example from the Twitter blog:

The question is, will this activity tab be available to the public or only the user when he's logged in? Mining the data streams of your followers is already a great way of finding potential customers. Will the activity stream be of any use to marketers or is it just another wave of data in an already overwhelming ocean of information?
My guess? Give it a month and someone will figure out how capitalize on the information.
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Social Media Burn Out and Why You Shouldn't Try to Do it All

Posted: 11 Aug 2011 11:48 AM PDT

Sometimes I feel like one of those kitchen gadgets they sell on late night TV. It slices, it dices, it makes perfect julienne fries, diapers the baby and writes your blog for you while you sleep. The irony is, that the computer age was supposed to help us get things done faster so we could have more leisure time, but in reality, it's given us even more to do.
Yesterday, Zen Habits delivered a refreshing post on living the minimalist lifestyle. Avoiding "Groundhog Day" syndrome and 4 hours a day to contemplate my navel while at the beach sounds nice, but truthfully, I'm not ready to give up my TV or my internet.
Where's the middle ground? I found that in, of all place, The New York Times. In an article about digital fatigue, the author profiles several people who have taken the bold step of narrowing their social media reach. For one woman, it meant focusing only on Twitter at the expense of Facebook and LinkedIn. For others, it means using tools to pre-load social media messages one day a week. Then forcefully blocking those sites the other six days.

Though tough to do, the people in the article say they've benefited from social media detox. They reference the joy of "checking in" with themselves while standing in line at the bank instead of with the world. Another speaks of sharing lunch with a friend instead of sharing his lunch with friends through Foursquare.
I'm not saying you can't do it all. I suppose you could if you have enough money, help and the proper tools. What I'm saying is, you shouldn't try to do it all. It's not worth it. That one extra click you get from posting a midnight message to Facebook isn't going to make or break you. What will break you is the avalanche in your head when you realize you've made public mistakes in the rush to post everything everywhere.
Figure out which two social media sites work best for your company. Let the others go for a month and if you don't see any noticeable change in your bottom line, cut the cord permanently. For those who use social media both personally and professionally, this can be a challenge. Believe me, I'm right there with you but I hear you'll feel better when the detox is done. That's what I hear, I'm still working on taking my own advice.
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